DIY Coasters for Only $1 Each!

When my Meemaw passed away, I received several of her belongings. One of which was a huge shoe-box stuffed to the brim with old postcards from all over the world from a variety of people. Ever since I received that shoe-box, I knew that I wanted to do something special with them, but what?

Fast forward to this past Christmas, in trying to find DIY gift ideas, I stumbled upon coasters – that’s it! I’ll make coasters with these postcards! It turned out to be a super simple DIY and after some research, very cheap as well. If you don’t have postcards, no worries, I have some suggestions.

I had both a small art brush, as well as a sponge brush & ended up using both for different reasons.

I used the small art brush to apply the glue, but if the postcard started swelling up from the glue, I used the sponge brush to help push it back down.

Directions:

Clean off the tiles

Use a dry rag, as they have accumulated powder from being stored/cut.

Measure & Cut Image

Since I wanted all of my tiles to look identical, I measured one postcard on the tile, leaving a centimeter border around the image to the edge of the tile, and then used that postcard as my template to cut the remaining postcards. Yours don’t have to be the same way, just make sure your image doesn’t exceed the edge of the tile.

Mod Podge Image

Place your image on the tile where you would like for it to remain & take the brush/sponge brush, & apply a couple layers of mod podge over the entire top of the image/tile, making sure to get the edges of the tile as well to give it a clean look when it dries.

NOTE: The postcard/image may start to curl a little bit on the edges, but no worries! Just press it down a bit with the sponge to let out some of the glue, and make sure to apply more layers once it dries.

I applied about 4 coats of mod podge per tile, just to ensure there were plenty of layers for wear & tear, and to make it water-resistant.

Mod Podge Images

Apply Felt Pads

One fully dried, which takes about an hour, you can then apply (4) felt pads on the bottom of the tile. I placed them about a centimeter away from the corners, trying to make them look consistent.

DONE!

After you’ve mod podged all your tiles and placed the felt pads on them, you’re all DONE! Simple, no?

Since I was giving mine away for Christmas gifts,

I grouped them into 4 and tied a ribbon around them for presentation.

BudgetBreakdown Based on Making 24 Tiles: (Assuming you don’t have to buy a brush or the images)

(4) Packs of 9 Tiles at $3.97/each = $15.88

(1) Bag of Felt Pads at $3.97/each = $3.97

(1) Mod Podge at $4.47 = $4.47

Brush/Image = Free

$24.32 Total/ 24 Tiles (how many I made) = $1 per coaster or $4 per gift!!

Four dollars for a homemade, personalized gift…I’ll take it!!

Like this idea? Have more DIY ideas? Feel free to comment below and subscribe to receive more DIY ideas!

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